Roasty toasty soup

Surely, sweltering summer said sayonara and autumn arrived abruptly...

(Annie adores alliteration!)

...which is why I'm bringing back soup! That, and also because once again, I was too lazy to go grocery shopping. Yup, another weeknight, another dinner born from ingredients on hand and a little experimentation. I'm psyched to say that this is now going to be one of my go-to soup recipes! You can use regular peppers and tomatoes in this, but the fire-roasted variety lend a smoky, slow-building heat that's incredibly warming - and the addition of brown rice and lentils makes it a healthful and filling meal in a bowl.

Fire-Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

(makes about 4 servings)

1 T olive oil

1/2 c chopped onions (about 1/2 medium onion)

2 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground coriander

1 t chili powder

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1 jar fire-roasted bell peppers, drained and chopped

1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted or 'chili-ready' chopped tomatoes with juice

1/2 t kosher salt

1/4 c to 1/2 c chicken/vegetable stock or water

1/4 c dried lentils, picked over and rinsed (I used French green lentils)

1/4 c short-grain brown rice (I used a boil-in-bag)

(Note: Cook the lentils and rice together in a separate pot while the soup is going, and undercook them, as they'll finish in the soup - refer to your package directions and go about with about 5 minutes less cooking time. Also, 1/4 c of each may not sound like a lot, but trust me - your soup will be packed!)

In a 2-qt saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions, sweating for about 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, chili powder and black pepper to the onions, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the onions have softened and the spices have become fragrant and toasted. Add in the chopped roasted peppers and stir to coat in the onion/spice mixture, cooking for about 1 minute. Add in the can of tomatoes along with the juice and the salt, stir everything to combine, and turn up the heat to bring the mixture up to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor (or use a blender/immersion blender); first process on low for about 30 seconds to get things going, then scrape down the sides and continue to puree until the soup is almost entirely smooth. In between your pulses, add the chicken/veg stock or broth, using your judgement about how much you need. If you had a really juicy can of tomatoes, you may need less, and if your mixture is really thick, you may need more. I used about 1/2 c total of additional liquid.

When the soup is the desired consistency, transfer it back to the original saucepan and bring up to a simmer. Add in the slightly undercooked lentils and rice, and allow everything to simmer together for another 5 minutes. Serve with crackers or crusty bread!

Fast, fresh Friday fiesta

When I think of fresh and simple summer cooking, Mexican-inspired food often comes to mind. Maybe it's the citrus (I LOVE LIME), or the fresh veggies, or the fact that it's so easy to vegetarianize...whatever it is, I love it! On Friday my friend came over to watch a movie, and we noshed on what I like to call Fiesta Bowls (not to be confused with the football game) beforehand.


We layered romaine lettuce, cilantro-lime brown rice, black beans with scallions and cumin, and this salsa (plus the addition of fresh-off-the-cob corn) in wide bowls and topped with some crunchy tortilla chips. With a crisp, cold Corona in hand, it's the perfect light and healthy summer supper.

Our bowl station ready to go - they're endlessly customizable!

With the chips, for a glamour shot.

Keen on quinoa

Have you heard about keenwah quinoa? It's another one of those foods that is actually ancient, but has lately been re-discovered and touted for its health benefits. Similar in size and texture to cous cous, it's cultivated in South America and is one of only a few plant-based sources that provides complete protein. I've had a box in my pantry for a while, and seeing recipe after recipe on the interwebs inspired me to cook up a few cups last week to keep in the fridge for breakfast (with oatmeal and milk) and any other great ideas that came along...like this one.


Paired with almost any fresh fruits/veggies and a little dose of dressing, quinoa becomes the perfect backdrop for a healthy and filling salad. I especially love this combination because the crunch from the radicchio and apples and the heartiness from the croutons make for a really nice texture!

Radicchio, Apple and Crouton Quinoa Salad


1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 pink lady apple, chopped
1/2 head of radicchio, shredded
handful of celery leaves, chopped
1/4 cup homemade multigrain croutons (cube bread, toast in oven with olive oil, salt and pepper till crunchy ~ 5 min)
1 T homemade vinaigrette (lemon juice, dijon mustard, pinch oregano, salt and pepper, extra virgin olive oil)


Cook your quinoa according to package directions, and add the cooked quinoa to a medium bowl. While the croutons are baking in the oven, chop up the apple and celery leaves and thinly slice the radicchio, then add to the quinoa bowl. Pull the croutons from the oven and add to the bowl, then toss everything together with 1 T of vinaigrette - or alternatively, dress simply with lemon juice/vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Because there's only 1 T of dressing in the whole salad, everything will stay nice and crisp (and not get limp and soggy) in the fridge, even for a few days - if you don't eat it first!

Sometimes, you just need to COOK

Have I told you about my job? I don't think I have. WELL...I love my job. I work for a market research company and manage several accounts - we do things like test ads before they go on air to see how they perform, track brands in the market to see how people feel about them, etc - and I've really enjoyed it for most of the two and a half years I've been there. HOWEVER......we all have our days, right? Sometimes weeks? Things get nuts, projects and deadlines hit all at once despite all the planning in the world, clients call with crazy requests. The past few weeks have been like that for me, and I've gotta tell ya - I'm weary! Last night I came home and knew that only one thing could help me zone out and relax.


Chop, chop, chop. There's something so calming about preparing ingredients! I love a silent kitchen, a silent apartment - all but for the sound of my sharp knife on the cutting board, the sizzle of food as it hits hot oil in a pan. My stress starts melting away the second I get in the kitchen, and last night I forgot all about work with the first bite of my hearty vegetarian enchiladas - sweet potato, red bell pepper, and crumbled up veggie burgers sauteed with some cumin, coriander and a little cayenne, rolled up in whole wheat tortillas then baked off with a topping of tomatillo salsa and cheddar cheese.

My roommate Jenn introduced me to tomatillos in a dish she made last summer, and now every so often I get a craving for this simple salsa. What do I love most about it? It's a tie between the taste (lime-y and fresh) and the ease (NO chopping required like my other favorite, pico de gallo). 


The Simplest Salsa Ever


1 can tomatillos
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
juice from 1 lime
1 jalepeno, ribs and seeds removed (I only like mild spice, so I used about 1/3 of it)

Open the can. Dump its contents into a food processor. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and jalepeno. Process until it's salsa (about 30 seconds).

A sweet potato success and a fudge fail

Today I've hit the two-week mark of my Pantry/Freezer Challenge, and I'm just starting to see the bottom of my pantry drawer and the back of my freezer. This challenge has really helped me refocus on being mindful in the kitchen - about what I buy and how I prepare it.


After a trip to the local produce mart (an amazing place called Stanley's, where you can buy a whole bag of fresh fruits and veggies for under $10!), I came home with a mutant sweet potato I was itching to use for something special.

The spoon is there for your benefit, so you can see what a colossal tuber I acquired.

That something special turned out to be whole wheat sweet potato gnocchi. Why? Well, I'd never made gnocchi before, and I like eating it, so I wanted to try to make it - without using any 'special' equipment (food mill, ricer, etc). Also, I knew I could get away with using only half this sweet potato and still have enough leftover for another meal (coming later this week!).


Paired simply with sauteed portabellos and sage-infused browned butter, this homemade, healthy gnocchi was simply delicious.


Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
(serves 2; makes about 30 gnocchi)


1 1/2 lb sweet potato, peeled (or part of an oversized one)
1 t olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 t salt
nutmeg (to taste)
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 egg, lightly beaten


Cut the sweet potato into a few large chunks and roast on a foil-lined pan with the olive oil at 350 degrees until soft, about 30-40 minutes (this step can be done a few days in advance). Place the potato chunks in a medium bowl, and add the minced garlic, rosemary, salt, and nutmeg. Using a potato masher, mash the potato and the spices well until well mashed, broken down and combined. It's okay if the mixture still seems a little coarse, it doesn't have to be a fine puree. Add the egg and incorporate into the potato with the masher until the mixture is wet. Now, using a spoon, add the flour a few tablespoons at a time, mixing to combine after each addition. You want the resulting dough to still be soft, but not so wet that it sticks to the bowl and the spoon and your hands. Don't worry, this recipe is forgiving.


When you've used up all (or almost all, depending on how it feels) of the flour, place the dough in a medium/large plastic bag - this is our makeshift pastry bag, and is way easier than rolling out and cutting the dough. Move the dough to one corner of the bag and cut off the end. Squeeze the dough out of the corner of the bag and use a sharp knife to cut it off in one-inch sections, directly into boiling, salted water. Cook the gnocchi for 3-4 minutes, until they float to the surface.

The finished gnocchi, with mushrooms and sage-brown butter. Yum!

Marshmallow Fluff No-Fail Fudge


So the real P/FC part of this meal was the dessert. I wanted to use up a half-jar of Marshmallow Fluff I've had in my pantry forever for some fudge to bring into work, in celebration of my coworker passing the US Citizenship Exam (congrats on being able to read the sentence, "Where is the White House?", Athos!). However, contrary to its name, this no-fail fudge failed me. Or I failed it. Either way, I set out for fudge, and this is what I got:

Chocolate dirt candy. Let's just say I played it off as congratulatory 'ice cream topping' rather than fudge.

It's a pizza party

Hi friends! This week I'm still trekking along with the Pantry/Freezer Challenge. I've  significantly whittled down my supply of assorted muffins and baked goods from the freezer (served along with some frozen fruit for breakfast), and I've given serious thought as to how to creatively use up the rest of my ingredients.


Even just a few days into this challenge, it's reminded me to be thoughtful and intentional about shopping and eating - something that was a big part of my life during my year in Americorps. It's so easy now to take for granted that I can run to the store for whatever I need, rather than make use of what I already have on hand.


So, in the spirit of resourcefulness and creativity, PIZZA seemed like a great way to use up random foodstuffs. Anything tastes good on a pizza, right? I made the dough Thursday night, then invited some girlfriends over to make and eat the pizza Friday night...proving that even when cooking straight from the pantry, you can still have a party! (I think three of us still counts as a party - don't you?) :)

Kathleen forming her crust

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
(makes 2 small crusts)


1 T active dry yeast
1 t sugar
1 1/2 c warm water (110 degrees - use a thermometer if, like me, you cannot approximate this exact temperature of water and don't want your yeast to die or not activate)
1 T olive oil
1 t salt
2 c whole wheat flour
2 T ground flaxseed (optional) (F)
2 T fresh chopped oregano and rosemary (optional)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour


In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water. Sprinkle on the yeast, and let it stand and foam for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil and the salt. Add the whole wheat flour, flaxseed and herbs (if using) and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour and mix with a fork or spoon until the dough comes together. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour over a clean, dry surface and turn out the dough. Knead it, incorporating the rest of the flour, for about 5-10 minutes. Spray the mixing bowl with some nonstick spray, and place the dough back in the bowl, covered with sprayed plastic wrap. Let it double in size, which will take about an hour (you could totally go to the gym while it's rising, like me). Remove the plastic wrap, cut the dough in half, form each half into a ball, place each in their own sprayed bowl, and cover with sprayed plastic wrap. This time, let it rise for another 30-45 minutes. At this point, you can refrigerate and use the next day or use right away. I don't like soggy pizza, so I always pre-bake my crust before adding the toppings (350 degrees for about 6-7 minutes).

Amazing* From-Scratch Pizza Sauce
(makes enough for your 2 small pizzas)


1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained well (over strainer) and juice reserved (P)
2 T tomato paste (F)
1 t olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 heaping t fresh chopped oregano and rosemary
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t sugar
black pepper


Add the whole peeled tomatoes (which have been drained well over a strainer) to a food processor/blender along with 1/2 cup of the reserved tomato juice and buzz until pureed. (You'll have 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice left over.) In a medium saucepan, add the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, minced garlic clove, fresh and dried herbs, salt, sugar and pepper. Stir well to combine everything, and simmer on low heat at least 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before adding to pizza.


*Not to toot my own horn here, but this sauce did taste pretty amazing. I've always used store-bought pizza sauce, but I didn't have any, and challenge rules are challenge rules! The key to using canned whole tomatoes is draining them well and adding only some liquid back - which makes for the perfect consistency!


We topped our pizzas with artichoke hearts (P), roasted red peppers (P), spicy olive bruschetta topping (P), pesto (F), spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Yum!

Pizza glamour shot

What do you like on your pizza? Any ideas how I can use that extra tomato juice? 

The Pantry/Freezer Challenge, Recipe #1 - Veggie Burgers

Welcome to the first recipe post of my new self-imposed challenge! Over the weekend, I did inventory in my kitchen for the first time ever, and counted a whopping 67 items between my pantry and freezer. Enough is enough! No more buying yet another can of tomatoes or bag of frozen broccoli just to get home and realize that I already have 2 waiting on me. No more throwing away leftovers that become good friends with freezer burn, or canned beans that occupied the bottom drawer since President Bush was in office.


My mission is clear: I can only buy fresh fruits and vegetables until I've cleaned out my pantry and freezer. 


Armed with an exhaustive list of staples and my new set of rules, I've been brainstorming recipes that will help use up my given ingredients. Seeing lots of beans and grains on the list took me back to my days as an Americorps volunteer, when the food budget for my house of 12 women was about $12 per person per week. Needless to say, we got creative with our grocery shopping and relied heavily on whole grains and alternative protein sources to keep us satiated, and thus - the inspiration for this recipe.

*Note - pantry/freezer ingredients will be noted as such in the recipe with a (P) or (F) next to it.

Annie's Ultimate Vegetarian Burgers

(makes 10 palm-sized patties)

2 celery ribs, chopped into large pieces

1 small onion, chopped into wedges

1/2 c rolled oats and/or oat bran (P)

1/2 c frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained (F)

3/4 c cooked brown lentils (P)

3/4 c cooked wild rice (P)

1 15-oz can soybeans (P)

1/2 29-oz can black beans (P)

2 t fresh oregano, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 t black pepper

1 t salt

1 t fresh basil (or 1/2 t dried)

1 t fresh cilantro (or 1/2 t dried)

1 t cumin

3/4 t paprika

2 eggs, beaten

**To make this recipe extra-simple, I used my food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can absolutely do without - just use your fine knife skills and a potato masher to get the right consistency.

Add the celery and onion chunks to the food processor and pulse until chopped finely, about 3 1-second pulses. Empty into a mesh strainer over a small bowl, and squeeze the celery and onion to release moisture. Add the celery and onion to a large mixing bowl. Return the processor bowl to the machine, and add the wild rice and lentils. Pulse these ingredients until chopped and broken down slightly, but not a paste - about 3-5 pulses. Add to the mixing bowl. Add the soybeans and black beans to the food processor, and repeat the pulsing until they have been chopped but are still in chunks, not pureed - about 5 1-second pulses. Add the thawed, drained spinach to the mixing bowl, along with the finely chopped oregano, minced garlic, all other herbs/spices, and rolled oats/oat bran.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Make a well in the large mixing bowl of ingredients and pour the beaten eggs into the well. Using your hands, mix together all ingredients and incorporate the eggs, making sure everything is well combined.

Form the veggie burger mix into 10 palm-sized patties, about the thickness of your hand. If saving for later, wrap individual patties in plastic wrap then foil and freeze. If cooking now, heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook patties for about 3 minutes on the first side till nicely browned, then flip, lowering heat to medium-low and covering with a lid for about 3 minutes, to allow to fully heat through. Then remove the lid and crank up the heat for the last minute to brown the bottom. 

Serve on a bun like a burger, or crumble burrito-style in a tortilla with toppings. Delicious and nutritious!